Local News

By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

The accused drunken driver in a crash that killed an 18-year-old girl early Monday nearly hit two other vehicles before colliding into the victim's car as he drove the wrong way on Coffee Road, court documents available Wednesday revealed.

Police say Martin William Juarez had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol coming from his breath, according to reports filed in Kern County Superior Court. He refused sobriety tests and his blood was drawn.

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Memorial fund

The Breana Webb Memorial Fund has been set up at Kern Schools Federal Credit Union, with an account number of 22698-1. Checks must be made payable to Jennifer Webb, and donations can be made at any Kern Schools Federal Credit Union branch or mailed to: Kern Schools Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 9506, Bakersfield, CA 93389-9506.

The reports say the 3:47 a.m. crash in the number 1 lane of northbound Coffee Road at Stockdale Highway killed Breana Webb and left her four passengers with injuries ranging from a lacerated kidney to multiple facial fractures. The passengers were identified in the court filings as Tyler Hartsfield, Justin Shields, Jason Guthrie and Jessica O'Dell.

Juarez, 33, is charged with felonies including second-degree murder and is being held on $2,225,000 bail. He has a prior DUI conviction from 2005, which has made the new charges more serious.

In California, a person previously convicted of DUI can be charged with second-degree murder if they subsequently kill someone while driving under the influence.

Juarez has a series of convictions on his criminal record, many regarding his driving, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to spousal abuse in 1997.

According to messages on Twitter, Webb and her passengers were returning from a party when they were hit. Webb was a 2012 graduate of Frontier High School.

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